Toe rails / rub rails

[TY375]

I'm working up my courage to tackle refinishing the rub & toe rails on my Ty (all the finish is worn away, except for a few patches on the underside of the rub rails) and wondered if it's best done in place or off the boat. If off the boat, is there a consensus on what to re-bed them with when I put them back on? I did the coaming boards a while ago (cetol - needs to be touched up but has held up well) and re-installed them using a suggestion from this board - foam weatherstripping - but that doesn't seem like a good choice here.

Thanks.

John

[Duncan]

I'm working up my courage to tackle refinishing the rub & toe rails on my Ty (all the finish is worn away, except for a few patches on the underside of the rub rails) and wondered if it's best done in place or off the boat. If off the boat, is there a consensus on what to re-bed them with when I put them back on? I did the coaming boards a while ago (cetol - needs to be touched up but has held up well) and re-installed them using a suggestion from this board - foam weatherstripping - but that doesn't seem like a good choice here.

Thanks.

John

Congratulations - it took me four years to work up to this!

I removed the rubrails this Spring, since they needed heavy sanding. I also wanted to varnish the undersides (to seal them).

Here's a before and after at the sanding stage:



I rebedded them in Sikaflex, (and then butyl tape, when I ran out of Sikaflex). I'd recommend the Sikaflex "mahogany" colour, because the white stuff I used is stands out too much.

They are looking great so far, and I expect to move on the the coamings soon.

[Dick Villamil]

I removed mine and made some repairs then rebedded with a West Marine polysupfide but Boat life would also be ok. I was able to sand the bare teak then applied 4 coats of cetol light. The rails still look great after 4 years with one touch-up coat per year. However, be prepared to do a lot of teak bung work and it takes two people to put the rails back on - wear gloves and have a lot of rage handy since the caulk gets essy really fast. If there are no leaks you might better apply wide blue tape to protect the fiberglass then sand carefully before applying the cetol. That saves a lot of time over removing the rails. Good luck and post some photos in the project section!

[Markst95]

Watch Mainsails article on countersinking the holes. I did mine and they haven't leaked a drop in 3 years.


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